10.2 – Community and Tradition
Q20 b) Do you think the Church is the means to faith? Give two reasons for your point of view. (4) Yes because It is through the Church that people come to believe in Christianity and so it is the means to faith. The Apostles were taught by Jesus and his teaching has been passed on to the Church throught the Apostolic succession. This means people can learn true faith from the Church. Catholics believe that the Pope and the Bishops can teach the true faith through the magisterium of the Church. So it is only throught the Church where the true faith cn be found. c) Explain why belief in the Church as the Body of Christ is important for Christians. (8) d) “Saints cannot pray for those on earth.” i. Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion. (3) ii. Give reasons why some people may disagree with you. (3) Q21 b) Do you think the Bible is important? Give two reasons for your point of view. (4) As a Christian I do think the bible is important because the bible records the teaching of Jesus and shows us as Christians how to live and make decisions. The basis of the Christian faith is recorded in the bible –Jesus life, death and resurrection. The bible contains the 10 commandments which are the guidelines for Christian life. The bible also reveals what God is like and what he does for Christians. c) Explain what the Apostolic Tradition means for Catholics. (8) For Christians it means the tradition from the apostles has been handed down in the church through popes and bishops. The same teaching that the apostles gave their congregation is given to the congregation today unchanged since the apostles. Apostolic succession continues by the sacrament of holy orders when the bishop is ordained the grace of God is given to him to carry on the apostolic tradition. Jesus gave St Peter the authority to lead the church and this has been continually passed on through the apostolic succession. d) “The Magisterium is out of touch with the lives of modern Catholics.” i. Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion. (3) I think the magisterium is out of touch with the modern world. The magisterium is made up entirely of men and has no female input at all. They also all live in the Vatican and are generally old men who have never married so do not know the pressure and temptations that people have in the `real` world outside the Vatican e.g. saying Sunday should be a day for God but many people have to work or may lose their job. Some of the teaching has not addressed certain modern issues and some are outdated teachings that are not moving with the time. ii. Give reasons why some people may disagree with you. (3) The magisterium gives answers to some modern issues that did not even exist at the time of the apostles e.g. same sex relationships. It gives Catholics a clear guideline of how to live ,behave and believe in the world today. The magisterium states something is to be true then it is true there is no higher authority for catholic than the magisterium so when they tell us what to do if we follow all these rules we should gain eternal life. It is updated regularly so often deals with new issues e.g genetic engineering. Q22 b) Do you think the Pope is important? Give two reasons for your point of view. (4) c) Explain the role of the parish priest. (8) d) “The Bible is the only authority a Christian needs.” i. Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion. (3) ii. Give reasons why some people may disagree with you. (3) Q23 b) Do you think priests should be celibate? Give two reasons for your point of view. (4) Yes, I think priests should be celibate because Jesus was celibate and priests should follow the ways of Jesus. Another reason is that being celibate means that priests can fully focus on their work and fully devote themselves to God and their parish. c) Explain why the Virgin Mary is important for Catholics. (8) d) “The Pope is the best person to decide what Christians should believe.” i. Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion. (3) ii. Give reasons why some people may disagree with you. (3)